Indices Trading Flat; L&T Finance Down Over 7%

Volatility persists in the markets today, with both the indices remaining under pressure. Currently, the Sensex is showing marginal gains while Nifty is swinging between red and green.

Of the Asian indices, Nikkei has surged by 1.41% today. Hang Seng is up 0.56%, while the Shanghai market has now moved up 0.11%. The positive sentiment is largely on hopes that the US will overcome the imminent fiscal crunch.

The European markets have also turned into the green, with all the three key indices showing gains of about 1%.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto is in the lead with 1.02% gains as the shares of Maruti Suzuki have rallied over 4%. FMCG is also up 0.4%. PSU is flat in its trades, while CD is the top loser with losses of 0.76%. Metals, CG and Healthcare are also down over 0.5% each.

From the Sensex stocks, as mentioned above, Maruti Suzuki has rallied 4.24% on hopes of rising sales this month due to the festive season. Bharti Airtel has also surged 3% as Credit Suisse upgraded it to 'outperform' from 'underweight'. ITC, M&M and Hero MotoCorp are also up over 1% each. Of the losers, Tata Power is down 2.67% and TCS has dropped 1.6%. Tata Steel, HDFC and RIL have also lost 1% each at this hour of the day.

In other shares, Strides Arcolab saw some strong buying on the bourses, as the shares jumped 2.7% by afternoon trades. Panacea Biotec also rallied over 4% after the company entered into a strategic alliance with Kremers Urban Inc.

L&T Finance Holdings, on the other hand, tanked over 7% after the reports that the recent surge in its share price is not sustainable. Tata Global Beverages also dropped by over 4% after Morgan Stanley downgraded it to 'underweight'. Counters like REC, Opto Circuits, Biocon and JP Power are also trading with intraday losses of over 3% today.

The advance-decline ratio on the BSE is currently in favour of declines, indicating a negative sentiment.

The Indian markets have not shown any positive momentum even after the gains seen in the peer Asian and European markets. Evidently, the domestic factors are taking a strong toll.

In conclusion, we expect the markets to remain volatile today.